Mystery Boxes

Mystery boxes are a great tool to practice scientific reasoning skills and introduce students to the power of scientific models. Students develop hypotheses about the internal structure of a mystery box and come up with ideas on how to test their hypotheses. They also learn about the difference between observation and inference.

The 3D-printable setup

We designed a set of 11 different 3D-printable mystery boxes. The setup includes

- base: a 3D-printable circular base with various options of internal structures, for example a square, a triangle or a line (see link above).
- steel ball: 5 mm diameter, is placed inside the structure in the base, needs to be purchased separately (look for a shop selling ball bearings).
- lid: a 3D-printable lid to close the mystery box, we recommend glueing it onto the base.
- small neodymium rod magnet (such as S-05-14-N): for more accurate observations, optional.

In some cases, it makes sense to label the mystery boxes, e.g., with a specif